Here at Sheep Pasture we teach students of all ages. Preschoolers can learn the similarities and differences between mammals and birds, elementary and middle school students can learn about the rock cycle and geology, and even adults can learn about beekeeping and gardening, and so much more. But one theme runs throughout every program: respect for and a connection to nature. These incredibly valuable lessons extend much further than our own classrooms, our fields and pastures, and even our own backyards.

As someone who has been teaching in the field of Environmental Education for over six years, and a life-long “kid” that loves nature, I truly enjoy getting to share my passion for nature with those around me. Since I began working at Sheep Pasture this year, I have already seen the importance of a place like this on the students we teach. We have the amazing opportunity to let them observe nature…while being a part of it! They can watch birds fly over our fields, roll logs and look for bugs, see tadpoles and aquatic invertebrates in our stream and marsh, and see our farm animals close up. All of these experiences can have a profound impact on their love and respect for nature.

While hiking our trails a few days ago-on one of the few sunny days as of lately-I found myself looking at nature not as teacher or naturalist but someone who was excited to see nature showing off. The wild buttercups in the field were blooming. The tree swallows were flying around like miniature airplanes. Even the frogs were croaking their songs. I felt so lucky and fortunate that I get to share this with the students I teach. I have the chance to share my passion and energy with kids of all ages hoping that it can spread not only to them, but to their family and friends as well when they share out about their visit.

When we teach at Sheep Pasture, we try to spark that same excitement I felt while hiking in all of our students. How great is it you can come and see a cow or sheep? You can walk on the trails and see a few gnome homes. You can sit at the bird blind and see and hear unique birds and their calls. While these may not seem like major events to us, to a child or student they may be something that connects them to nature. These events can hopefully turn into a self-driven desire to learn more about plants and animals, and the connections we have with them.

At the end of the day, we can teach them everything we know about rocks or butterflies or food webs, but they are more than likely going to remember feeding a chicken, seeing a red-tailed hawk soaring in the sky, or having a sheep walk to the side of the fence and bleat at them. They are going to remember how much fun they had and how Ms. Kirstie, Ms. Katy, and Mr. Nathan got to hang out with them all day. I think that is a perfect day for someone that will soon become the next generation of teachers, parents, naturalists, scientists, politicians, and world changers.

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For those that don’t know me…Hello! I’m Nathan, the part time preschool teacher/naturalist here at Sheep Pasture. I’m originally from Indiana but have been living in New England for 10 years. I have been teaching for about 8 years in formal, informal, and camp settings. Working with preschool and elementary students has always been my favorite, but found teaching in a traditional classroom and teaching all the various subjects wasn’t quite for me. I have gained unique experiences working with various populations through my teaching of school programs and overnight scout programs at an AZA accredited zoo, teaching at a sleep-away summer camp, and completing two years of the AmeriCorps National and Community Service program. I am looking forward to teaching the preschool Kneehigh Nature Adventures this summer! Please feel free to contact me if you ever have any preschool questions or are looking for Sheep Pasture to come visit your school, preschool, or daycare at nrickard.nrt@gmail.com.

As part of the NRT's 50th Anniversary celebration, a series of home skills workshops are scheduled for anyone looking to learn more about any one of our upcoming topics, including:Battling invasive speciesBackyard beekeeping (2 classes available)Composting for beginnersFun family paint nights (2 classes available)Meet the NRT Farm AnimalsNRT campfire sing alongRegistration is required for some workshops, so visit the NRT online to read more about the classes scheduled, as well as for downloadable registration forms!Registration is now open for all classes in June-September.

Last minute spaces for our Beginners Gardening class on Tuesday, May 23rd are still available. Call the NRT office to register at 508-238-6049.

Spring is finally here and Summer is on its way! We all know what that means; more sunshine, warmer days, bright flowers in bloom, buds appearing......and mosquitos buzzing. Let’s face it. No one enjoys being bit by a mosquito, however, you are more than likely a fan of something else they do!

Mosquitos are great pollinators. Many assume that mosquitoes only feed on blood. Female mosquitos bite to obtain much needed proteins for egg laying. The male mosquito doesn’t bite at all. This means that mosquitos need another food source…nectar. They buzz around from flower to flower when not buzzing around us, picking up pollen as they go. When they land on another flower to feed, they transfer the pollen as well. It was found that mosquitos are contributors to the pollination of many varieties of orchids found in North America. It is believed that mosquitoes are the key pollinators of rare Artic Orchids, where other insects are scarce.

Mosquitos also provide a significant food source for other organisms. Bats, for example, may eat over 6000 mosquitoes a night! And they aren’t the only ones feeding on them. Mosquitos provide an ample meal to birds, fish, amphibians, dragonflies and damselflies, and even other mosquitos. Many aquatic animals and insects also feed on mosquito larvae that develop in a water source.

Camouflage is a word we hear all the time but did you know that there are different kinds of camouflage. Aposematic, countershading, mimicry and background matching are all different types of camouflage.

Have you ever seen a black and yellow hornet? Or a black and white skunk? And do you try and get closer to these animals or do you stay away? Well if you are like me you stay away because of those warning colors that we are so used to seeing. In nature animals that have two contrasting colors - most commonly black, white, red and yellow - are said to have aposematic coloration. These colors generally mean that an animal is poisonous, venomous, toxic, has spines or even just smells or tastes bad. Poison dart frogs are an excellent example of aposematic coloration because the usually have black and a bright color so predators can identify them as poisonous. These amphibians don’t even produce their poison but they ingest it from insects and use it for their own defense.

​This survival technique is also used by animals that don’t actually have any of those hazards but want to appear as if they do called batesian mimicry. Batesian mimicry is when a harmless animal has the same colors as a dangerous animal. They are mimicking the the colors to fool predators into thinking they are dangerous. Some examples of this are the eastern coral snake (venomous) and the scarlet kingsnake (nonvenomous). Both of these species live in the southeastern United States so people have come up with a rhyme to remember which is the venomous snake: “red and yellow you’re a dead fellow; red and black you’re alright Jack.”

​Some animals don’t try to stand out with bright warning colors but will have duller colors in order to hide from predators. Cryptic coloration helps animals blend in to make hard to see in them in their habitat. The tawny frogmouth is an excellent example of blending because they become almost invisible to predators because they freeze and look like a branch. Many animals do this even if it is just be brown or gray so they don’t stand out like deer or squirrels.

​The last color technique is similar to cryptic coloration in which the animal is trying to blend in but instead of wanting to blend into the background they try to match the light. Countershading is when the top of an animal is dark while the underside is light. This helps animals that will be seen from both above and below like birds or aquatic creatures. When an animal is all one color its shadow makes the animal easily visible but with countershading it’s harder to see the animal.

Have you ever heard spring peepers in early spring? Or kept track of the birds you see at your winter feeder? Well then you are on your way to becoming a citizen scientist! Citizen science is, as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary, “scientific work undertaken by members of the general public often in collaboration with or under the direction of professional scientists and scientific institutions.” In simpler terms it mean that people, just regular people like you and me, collect data to help scientists study anything from butterfly migration and firefly populations to air quality on mountains and measuring sky brightness.

​One of my favorite projects is the Christmas Bird Count by the National Audubon Society. This project allows you to observe birds in your own backyard to help scientists assess the health of bird populations and guide conservation projects. Some of these projects have be collecting data for decades and they can sometimes be used together to come up with comprehensive conservation action.

Sometimes citizen science projects require some training in order to participate like FrogWatch USA. Frogs and toads are excellent biological indicators, meaning they can show the health of an ecosystem with their behavior and biology. The timing of when frogs start calling can also tell us a lot about our seasons and how those are changing year to year. In order to track frog and toad data near you, you will have to find a trained mentor who can then train you! ​

Other projects you can just sign up for and go like Firefly Watch through the Museum of Science Boston. The goal of this project is to learn the geographic distribution of fireflies in New England. You can register your backyard and then just track how many and when you see those fabulous fireflies!

There are so many different projects to participate in you can find the right one for your to become a super citizen!

​​This coming Saturday, May 6th from 10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. is NRT’s Spring Farm Festival! This event includes arts and crafts, planting activities, play areas, "Touch-a-Tractor" and more! My favorite part of this event is when we shear our sheep! So to prepare you for the shearing here are some wooly interesting facts!

Wool is renewable, all-weather fiber that keeps you warm, cool, and even protects you from the sun’s UV rays! Wool is very durable and flexible, it can be bent 20,000 times without breaking while cotton breaks at 3,000 times and silk is at 2,000 times. This strength can come in handy because wool yarn is almost always the tightly wound yarn inside of baseballs!

We all think of using wool to make clothing, socks, hats and mittens but did you ever think to insulate your house with it? Well since it is fire-retardant, insulates in both hot and cold climates helping reduce energy costs. It also is very resistant to mold, mildew, and odors.

If you are looking for an environmentally friendly fiber, wool is for you! Unlike synthetic materials it is biodegradable and renewable! Most sheep get shorn once a year in the spring or early summer! This is a low maintenance fiber because it has a natural protection against dirt and stains. Underneath the wool, near the skin the sheep produce an oil called lanolin; this oil has many different like lip balm, lotion, waterproof wax and even shoe polish.

Now that you know all of these wool facts come to our Spring Farm Festival to see where it all starts, ewe wool not believe your eyes!